Tandem hydrogenation and condensation of fluorinated α,β-unsaturated ketones with primary amines, catalyzed by nickel

Nickel-Catalyzed Transfer Hydrogenation of Benzonitriles with 2-Propanol and 1,4-Butanediol as the Hydrogen Source

The homogeneous transfer hydrogenation of benzonitrile with 2-propanol or 1,4-butanediol produced N-benzylidene benzylamine (BBA, 85% yield) using 5 mol % [Ni(COD)2] as a catalytic precursor and a mixture of Cy2P(CH2)2PCy2 and Cy2P(CH2)2P(O)Cy2 as ancillary ligands, under mild reaction conditions (120 °C, 96 h, tetrahydrofuran). 1,4-Butanediol performed better than 2-propanol as a hydrogen donor and yielded γ-butyrolactone as the product of transfer dehydrogenation. Selectivity toward dibenzylamine (DBA, 62% yield) was achieved by varying the amount of 1,4-butanediol in the catalytic system. A reaction mechanism was proposed, involving a ligand-assisted O-H bond activation, end-on substrate coordination, and a key dihydrido-Ni(II) intermediate, leading to the in situ formation of primary imines and amines to ultimately yield the secondary imines observed.

Catalytic transfer hydrogenation of azobenzene by low-valent nickel complexes: a route to 1,2-disubstituted benzimidazoles and 2,4,5-trisubstituted imidazolines

The one-pot synthesis of 1,2-disubstituted benzimidazoles by the transfer hydrogenation of azobenzene, using benzylamine as a hydrogen donor is reported, catalyzed by 2 mol% of [Ni(COD)₂] : dippe.

Nickel-catalyzed transfer hydrogenation of ketones using ethanol as a solvent and a hydrogen donor

We report a nickel(0)-catalyzed direct transfer hydrogenation (TH) of a variety of alkyl–aryl, diaryl, and aliphatic ketones with ethanol.